Apartments, condos, Shore bungalows, awkward rooms

How to arrange a small living room, and the furniture that fits it

A small room is not a problem to hide; it is a room with fewer wrong answers. Pick the one big piece first, give it the longest wall, keep a walkway you can carry a laundry basket through, and let everything else be small, light or double-duty. The pieces that make this work, chaise loveseats, cuddlers, compact sectionals, sleeper sofas, nesting tables and storage ottomans, are on the floor in Northfield where you can measure them, and our delivery guide tells you whether they fit through your door.

Loveseat with chaise for a small living room, Kensington Furniture

Kensington Furniture is a family-owned store in Northfield, New Jersey, since 1912. Loveseats with chaise, cuddler sectionals, sleeper sofas and living-room tables are on one two-acre floor, and free layout help is a phone call away at 609-241-0807.

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Six rules for arranging a small living room

Measure first: the room, the doorway, and the path from the front door to the room. Then apply these in order.

1. One anchor, on the longest wall

A loveseat with chaise or a two-piece sectionalThe sofa decides the room. In a small room the best anchor is a loveseat with a chaise or a compact two-piece sectional: it seats three, the chaise replaces a separate chair and ottoman, and it sits against the longest wall with the chaise on the side the door is not. Skip the three-seat sofa plus two chairs; that is a big-room plan.

2. Keep a 30-inch walkway

Front door to the far side of the room, uninterruptedTrace the path you walk most and keep it at least 30 inches wide, 36 if two people pass. Everything else can be tighter: 14 to 18 inches between sofa and coffee table is right, not generous.

3. Float the sofa a few inches off the wall

Counter-intuitive, and it worksThree or four inches of air behind the sofa reads as intent rather than cramming, and a recliner or a chaise loveseat with a wall-hugger recline needs that gap anyway. Push only the tallest piece, a bookcase or media unit, hard against the wall.

4. Go up, not out

Tall and narrow beats low and wideA tall bookcase or a narrow media console uses the wall instead of the floor. Low, wide sideboards eat the room. Wall-mount the television and the console under it can be 16 inches deep.

5. Every second piece does two jobs

Storage ottoman, nesting tables, sleeper sofaA storage ottoman is the coffee table, the footrest, the blanket box and the extra seat. Nesting tables disappear into each other. A sleeper sofa is the guest room. In a one-bedroom, this is how a living room also hosts.

6. Light legs, light colours, one big rug

See the floor and the room growsPieces on visible legs let the floor run under them; skirted sofas stop the eye. One rug large enough that the front legs of every seat sit on it makes the room one room; a small rug in the middle makes it two smaller ones.

The measurement that matters most

Not the room: the door. A sofa that fits the wall but not the doorway comes back on the truck. Measure the narrowest opening on the route in, including the hallway turn and the stair landing, and check it against the piece's depth or height on the product page. Our delivery guide walks through it, and our crews have taken a sectional through a Ventnor second-floor window more than once.

The three small-room anchors, compared

What each one gives up and what it gives back in a room under about 12 by 14 feet.

Loveseat with chaiseTwo-piece sectional with cuddlerSofa plus storage ottoman
SeatsTwo, plus feet up on the chaiseThree, plus a corner to curl up inThree, plus one on the ottoman
FootprintSmallest: the chaise takes the place of a chairMedium; the cuddler corner is deepMedium; the ottoman moves
Best inNarrow rooms, apartments, a room where the sofa faces the TVRooms with one open corner; families who pile onRooms that host; the ottoman becomes a table or a seat
Gets through a door?Usually, in one piece; measure the chaise depthYes, in two piecesYes
Sleeper versionSome modelsRareSleeper sofas are common
On the floor nowLoveseats with chaise from Ashley across the floorLindyn and Modmax cuddler piecesSleepers: Rannis, Aviemore, Altari; storage ottomans

Floor models rotate; the ones named were on the floor when this page was written.

Free layout help, by phone

What to send

A phone photo from each corner, the room's length and width, where the door, windows and outlets are, and what the room has to do: TV, reading, hosting, the occasional overnight guest. A consultant sketches two layouts and pulls the pieces that fit, all in stock or on order, and has them ready when you come in.

What we will say no to

A sofa that will not clear your door, a rug that is too small, and a coffee table with sharp corners in a 30-inch walkway. We would rather lose the sale than deliver something you have to climb over.

$0 DOWN, 0% INTEREST FINANCING

36 equal monthly payments on furniture, no minimum purchase. Mattress purchases of $999 or more: up to 60 months. Kensington Furniture Synchrony HOME™ Credit Card, subject to credit approval.

See if you prequalify

Send the room. A consultant calls with two layouts.

Room size, a photo or two and what the room has to do. A Kensington consultant calls back, sketches two layouts, checks the door, and has the pieces that fit ready for your visit.

Or call 609-241-0807, Monday to Saturday 10 am to 7 pm, Sunday 11 am to 5 pm.

What is it for?

A Kensington consultant calls back the same or next business day. No spam, no list.

Delivery, will it fit, and the floor

Delivery and pickup

We deliver throughout South Jersey: Atlantic City, Ocean City, Cape May, Somers Point, Linwood, Margate, Ventnor, Galloway, Mays Landing and the Shore towns between. In-stock pieces are available for pickup or fast delivery.

Delivery is white-glove: our crew brings the piece in, sets it up in the room and takes the packaging away. Removal of old furniture or a mattress is available for a charge and has to be arranged when you schedule the delivery.

Will it fit? We check before we load

Give us the doorway, hallway and stair measurements when you order and our crew plans the route in before the truck leaves Northfield. Delivery is white-glove: the piece is set in the room, packaging taken away. Call 609-241-0807 if you are not sure what to measure; the delivery guide has the checklist.

Come see it at 200 Tilton Road

Kensington Furniture & Mattress, 200 Tilton Road, Northfield, NJ 08225. Exit 36 off the Garden State Parkway. Phone 609-241-0807.

  • Monday to Saturday10 am to 7 pm
  • Sunday11 am to 5 pm

Get directions

Small living rooms, the questions we get

How do I arrange furniture in a small living room?
Put one anchor piece, a loveseat with chaise or a compact sectional, on the longest wall; keep a 30-inch walkway from the door; float the sofa a few inches off the wall; go tall rather than wide for storage; make every second piece do two jobs; and use one rug big enough for the front legs of every seat.
What size sofa fits a small living room?
For a room under about 12 by 14 feet, a loveseat of 60 to 75 inches, or a loveseat with chaise of about the same width and 60 to 65 inches deep on the chaise side. Leave 30 inches for the walkway and 14 to 18 inches to the coffee table; measure the doorway before the wall.
Is a sectional a bad idea in a small room?
Not if it is a two-piece with a chaise or a cuddler corner, placed against the longest wall with the chaise on the side away from the door. A three-piece with two arms and a corner is a big-room piece. Two-piece sectionals also arrive in two parts, which solves the doorway.
Which way should the chaise face?
Away from the door and the main walkway, so the path through the room stays open, and toward the window if there is one so the person on it gets the light. Most chaise loveseats come left- or right-facing; decide with a sketch before ordering.
How do I know a sofa will fit through my door?
Measure the narrowest opening on the route in, including hallway turns and stair landings, and compare it with the sofa's depth and height on the product page; most sofas go through on their side. Our delivery guide has the checklist and our crew checks the route before the truck leaves.
What coffee table is best in a small living room?
A storage ottoman: it is the table, the footrest, the blanket box and an extra seat, and its soft corners do not bruise shins in a tight walkway. If you want a hard surface, a round or oval table with legs you can see, or nesting tables that tuck away.
How big should the rug be?
Big enough that the front legs of every seat sit on it, which in most small rooms means an 8 by 10 rather than the 5 by 7 that looks right in the shop. One large rug makes one room; a small rug in the middle divides it.
Can I have a guest bed in a one-bedroom apartment?
A queen sleeper sofa as the main sofa is the usual answer; the current mechanisms open without instructions and the mattresses are real. A daybed with a trundle works in an office. We keep sleepers on the floor so you can open one before you buy.
Do you offer free design help for a small room?
Yes. Design consultations are free and booked by phone at 609-241-0807. Send photos and the room size after the call; a consultant sketches two layouts, checks the doorway and pulls in-stock pieces that fit, then you come in and sit on them.
Where can I see small-space furniture in South Jersey?
Kensington Furniture is at 200 Tilton Road, Northfield, NJ 08225, off Exit 36 of the Garden State Parkway, open Monday to Saturday 10 am to 7 pm and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. Call 609-241-0807 first and we will tell you which models are set up that week.
Do you deliver to apartments and second-floor units?
Yes. Our own crews deliver throughout South Jersey, including walk-ups and elevator buildings; tell us the floor, the elevator size or the stair turns when you schedule and we plan the route. In-stock pieces are available for pickup or fast delivery. Delivery is white-glove: set up in the room, packaging taken away.
What financing is available?
Furniture financing at Kensington is 36 equal monthly payments with $0 down and 0% interest, no minimum purchase, on the Kensington Synchrony HOME credit card, subject to credit approval. Prequalifying does not affect your credit score.